Do You Hear the People Sing?
by shmulia
Summary: Rehearsing the school production of Les Misérables would be a lot easier if Zuko could keep his eyes off of Katara. But it's difficult when the girl you're serenading isn't the one on your mind...


Vocal warm ups were _intense_ , Zuko thought to himself. They were necessary, he knew, but he was pretty sure that yodelling was not, as Sokka insisted, a proper technique to warm up the vocal chords. The ponytailed boy had somehow got the entire cast in a circle, and were all now stretching their vocals by yodelling.

The only person not joining in the impromptu yodelling session, apart from Zuko, was Katara, who looked as concerned about her brother's antics as Zuko felt. Their eyes met briefly across the show circle as their castmates warbled, nodding to each other as they acknowledged the other's sanity across a room filled with French revolutionaries yodelling.

Just another day in the drama department, really.

Zuko wasn't sure exactly _who_ had decided that the department would do Les Misérables as their school musical this year, but the school had definitely gone all out for the production. French flags adorned the hallways, and the students had really gotten themselves involved in the themes and plot of the musical by creating barricades in their classrooms to lock out their unamused teachers.

The costumes had been made, sets had been designed, and now there was only one day more until opening night for the increasingly nervous cast. Hence the desperate attempt to keep their voices in check, resulting in a chorus of yodelling.

Zuko looked over at Katara again, thankful that he wasn't the only one who had remained silent. Their eyes met again, and Katara rolled her eyes, motioning her head towards her brother. Zuko grinned, nodding at her in response.

The two had become fairly close in the weeks of rehearsal; they'd spent time between songs hanging out, with Katara insisting that she couldn't pine over someone she didn't know, even if it was only for the show.

But outside of the rehearsal hall, the two barely knew each other; both ran in different crowds, despite Zuko's growing friendships with Aang and Sokka, as well as Katara. Being Azula's older brother meant that Zuko was separate to most other students, hanging out only with his sister and her friends. Being the rich kids with bad attitudes towards the rest of the student population didn't exactly make other students amiable to Zuko's group, and the general sense of fear regarding Azula made Zuko simultaneously unpopular and popular.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

Katara, however, was genuinely popular. With a kind nature and a take-no-shit attitude, she had won over most of the students at the school. The only person who hated Katara was, naturally, Azula, if only because Katara had won the coveted role of Eponine where Azula had failed.

Whilst his sister had griped about 'her' part being deprived of her and plotted revenge (Zuko was sure he'd heard something about challenging Katara to a duel, but nothing seemed to have come from it, luckily), Zuko had been incredibly relieved that Azula wouldn't be performing. It had given him the chance to get to know people he hadn't grown up with; after Aang had immediately warmed up to him, and Sokka had poked him with a fake bayonet a few times to "see if he was the real Zuko, and not some nice imposter", the cast had been surprisingly welcoming to Zuko. And, with a little more reluctance due to his sister's desire to get revenge on her, so had Katara.

The so-called vocal warm ups of the cast circle were silenced by the arrival of their director, Piandao, who walked through the door and stared at them, confusion written all over his face. Aang was the first to notice the teacher, stopping his singing instantly. The others all followed suit, until only Sokka was left. Piandao cleared his throat, and Sokka's voice halted.

"What are you all doing?" Piandao asked.

"We're warming up our vocal chords!" Aang piped up cheerily, pointing at Sokka. "He suggested it, it's great!"

Piandao raised an eyebrow at Sokka, who rubbed the back of his neck as he glared at Aang.

"Gee, thanks" the ponytailed boy grumbled. Piandao shook his head slightly, and made the decision to move on immediately.

"Right, okay then. Before we start, I want a quick word with the revolutionaries about the barricade. Katara, Bumi, Aang, you guys as well. Everyone else... drink some water, or something."

The student revolutionaries moved towards Piandao, and listened to him lecture them about the importance of moving carefully on the barricades in case they slipped. Zuko tuned out as the teacher's lecture droned on; there was only so much to be said about not falling off the set. He looked around his castmates, who were still listening intently.

Zuko was slightly concerned at how well Jet suited the part of Enjolras. Part of him expected for the boy to genuinely try and overthrow the school (or possibly the government) once the play was over; he suited the revolution leader's part to a tee.

Likewise, Sokka was a perfect Grantaire; ever the joker, 'Red and Black' had become the cast's favourite song once Sokka had pulled himself up on the table and flung himself, swooning, into Zuko's surprised arms in the midst of their duet.

Aang's too-big, tatty clothes engulfed him as he listened to Piandao; a freshman who hadn't yet had a growth spurt, Aang was ideal for the role of Gavroche. His exuberance and bright personality had brought his character to life, and caused the majority of cast members to try to adopt him, legalities aside.

Nobody had expected Bumi to land the role of Jean Valjean. He was a senior who didn't take high school seriously, and Zuko was convinced that it was only the encouragement of Aang which had convinced the older boy to go for the role. Whatever the reason, Bumi had shocked everyone with a beautiful rendition of 'Bring Him Home', and was now in the process of growing facial hair so he could appear older.

Unlike the other cast members, Katara hadn't gotten the role she'd auditioned for; she had gone for Cosette, but hadn't quite hit the high notes. Piandao hadn't wanted to lose her talent however, so whilst Zuko would now be the Marius to Yue's Cosette, Katara had turned out to be a wonderful Eponine.

But Zuko was still slightly disappointed that Katara hadn't gotten the part she had gone for. Yue was a sweet girl, but a small part of him thought that it would be so much easier to pretend to be in love with Katara.

He refused to let himself think whythat was.

Zuko didn't notice Piandao wrapping up his speech until a sharp nudge from Sokka's elbow brought his attention back to the group surrounding him. Piandao was looking at him, eyebrows raised, with his arms folded across his chest.

"Well, now that we have Zuko's attention, maybe we can finally start. We'll go through the songs that need to be fine-tuned, and then we'll do a final dress rehearsal. Zuko, Yue, Katara, take the stage. We're going to start with 'A Heart Full of Love', so get in your places!"

The trio moved onto the stage, getting into their positions as the music began. Zuko started to sing, able to relate to his character's awkwardness in the duet. Yue's voice chimed in, and Zuko had to admit they sounded good together. But when Katara's voice joined the duo, he couldn't help but think he sounded better with her; he glanced over at where she was, his gaze lingering on her long enough for Piandao to interrupt the song.

"Zuko, you're supposed to look at Yue, not Katara! Marius is supposed to be madly in love with Cosette, something the audience isn't going to see if you're constantly looking at Eponine!" the teacher called from his seat. "Start again from the top!"

The trio onstage shifted back to their starting positions. The music began to play, and Zuko tried to concentrate on Yue instead of Katara's voice.

Fear of Piandao's retribution kept his eyes on Yue's blue ones as the duet began. He couldn't help but notice that Yue's were a lighter shade of blue than Katara's; they were almost grey. Katara's were more of a navy blue. No, cobalt. Wait, when had he started paying that much attention to Katara's eyes? It didn't matter, he was meant to be madly in love with Cosette.

But he was now curious about the exact shade of blue of Katara's eyes, and figured that Piandao wouldn't notice if he looked over at her _once_.

He was wrong.  
***

Two hours later, they were still rehearsing. Yue and Katara had finally been allowed to relax after multiple repeats of the same song, but Zuko was given no such freedom. Piandao had him onstage singing 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables' (it turns out it's difficult to sing about the death of your friends when they're sitting in front of you pulling stupid faces), and then the entire cast was up for the finale.

Finally, they began the dress rehearsal, which went surprisingly smoothly. Piandao was proud that nobody fell off the barricade, and applauded genuinely when the finale ended. The cast changed back into ordinary clothes, and were sent home with a nod of approval, dispersing out of the theatre's back door as the school bell rang.

Zuko was hanging up his costume, ready for the next day, when Katara appeared next to him.

"Good going back there," Katara said kindly. "You're sounding great."

"Thanks," Zuko replied, slightly confused at her sudden manifestation. "You too, you're going to knock them dead tomorrow."

Katara shrugged away the compliment, looking at the ground as a small smile grew on her face.

"Thanks, Zuko," she said. "So, this might sound a bit random, but Sokka's planning on having a celebratory first night dinner tomorrow at the Jasmine Dragon. Do you want to come?"

Zuko's eyes widened slightly, showing his surprise at the invitation. Katara was inviting him out. To a group event, yes, but Katara was asking nonetheless.

"Uh, can I think about it?" he asked, pros and cons of going (spending time with Katara and new friends versus making an ass of himself by accident) battling in his mind immediately. Katara nodded, her smile faltering.

"Sure. Just let Sokka know soon, okay?"

Zuko shrugged his jacket on, looking up to tell Katara that he would, but she was already heading towards the door. She reached it and paused, her hand grasping the door handle.

"Zuko?" she said quietly.

"Yeah?"

He could see Katara's shoulders rise as she took a deep breath.

"If... if you don't want to come because you don't want to be seen with us outside of the play, I- _we_ understand. You have a reputation to uphold, after all." With that she left the room, leaving behind a gobsmacked Zuko.

She thought he was saying maybe because they were in different _social groups_?

Zuko thought about the evening he would have if he didn't go to the dinner with his new friends. Azula would be stewing over her lost part, Mai and Ty Lee would be congratulatory to him for a moment, but sympathetic to Azula's plight. His father wouldn't even _be_ there, and his Uncle would be serving his friends at dinner.

...It wasn't a difficult choice, really.

He sent off a text to Sokka as he left the building, accepting the invite. Social status be damned, he wanted to go to dinner.  
***

He was nervous.

It wasn't long until he'd be onstage, a crowd watching his every move. Suddenly the hours of rehearsal didn't seem like enough; surely Piandao realised that Zuko wasn't _ready_ to perform?

Not that it mattered now, anyway. His costume was on, and he would end up on that stage if Jet had to drag him kicking and screaming. As long as the screaming was vaguely in tune and sounded slightly musical, Zuko thought that maybe Piandao would be okay with that entrance.

He was brought out of his contemplations by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Katara, in a jacket which enveloped her completely, her hair draping over her shoulders and her makeup artfully painted so it looked like she had dirt on her face.

It was unfair that she even looked pretty covered in dirt, Zuko thought.

She smiled hesitantly, shifting nervously as she looked at him.

"Hi," she whispered. Zuko nodded in acknowledgement, raising his eyebrows questioningly as he tilted his head. Katara tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before taking a quick breath.

"I just wanted to apologise for storming off yesterday," she said, her voice barely louder than a sigh. "I was stressed about tonight, and took it out on you by making a rude assumption. That wasn't fair of me. I'm sorry."

Zuko wasn't good with words, he knew. So he showed his acceptance of her apology by throwing an arm around Katara and pulling her into a one-armed hug.

"It's ok," he whispered. "I'm looking forward to dinner later. Just so you know. I'm not embarrassed to be seen with any of you guys."

Katara's face lit up, and Zuko was stunned by the sheer beauty of her smile until Jet came over to tell Katara she was meant to make her entrance from the other side of the stage. She nodded, whispering "break a leg!" to both boys before silently leaving.

A few moments later, Zuko met Katara on the stage, and the show began for the pair.

Zuko was very proud that he managed to keep his eyes on Yue at the appropriate times – it was a surprisingly difficult task whenever Katara was around, it turned out.  
***

All in all, it was a good first night. Lots of audience members had cried, which was a good sign for a production of Les Misérables. Zuko could have sworn that he even saw tears in the eyes of Piandao when the lights came up.

The cast revelled in the applause for a good few minutes before leaving the stage to begin the task of removing their makeup and costumes, a surprisingly difficult task – Zuko was sure he'd never seen so much concealer in one place in his life.

Hugs were given and received liberally in the dressing rooms, and the entire group seemed to be making their way towards the restaurant which Zuko had been happy to announce would be providing them with a twenty percent discount, courtesy of Uncle Iroh in the audience.

He was one of the first to leave, preceded only by Sokka, who was shouting to Yue and Katara that he'd bring the car round while they were getting ready so they could get to the restaurant as soon as possible.

Zuko pulled up the zip on his leather jacket, his satchel hanging from his shoulder as he headed towards his car in the parking lot. He paused when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Zuko! Hey, Zuko!"

He turned to see Katara heading towards him, wearing a dark blue skirt the same colour as the necklace adorning her neck, no longer clad in a too-big coat soaked in fake blood.

He paused by his car, letting her catch up to him. She was smiling as she walked, her bag bumping against her hip in time with her steps. When she reached him, her smile turned into a full on grin.

"Hey Katara, what's up? I thought we were all meeting at the restaurant," he said. Katara's cheeks darkened slightly, and she nodded.

"We are. I just wanted to say that you were fantastic tonight. And, um, I'm really glad you're coming to dinner. It should be fun," she said, glancing at the floor as she spoke. Heat shot up to Zuko's face, and he rubbed the back of his neck as he smiled.

"Thanks! You were too! Fantastic, I mean. And, yeah, me too. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with you- with, uh, everyone outside of rehearsal."

Katara's gaze shot up to meet his, and Zuko knew she'd caught his slip of the tongue. She clutched the strap of her bag, biting her lip to hold back a smile.

"I'm looking forward to hanging out with you, too," Katara said. "Maybe we could do something without the rest of the cast some time."

Zuko's blush deepened, and he was nodding before he knew it.

"Yeah! Yeah, that'd be awes-" A car horn honked behind them, interrupting Zuko, and he looked up to see Sokka's head poking out of the window of his truck.

"Hurry up guys, food's waiting for me to eat it!" Sokka called. Katara rolled her eyes before winking at Zuko and heading to the vehicle her brother was waiting in.

"See you at the restaurant!" she called, climbing into the backseat of the car behind Yue, waving once she'd shut the door and fastened her seatbelt. Zuko raised a hand to wave back, but Sokka was already driving away.

Zuko blinked in rapid succession, replaying the last few minutes in his head.

Katara had asked him out.

He'd said _yes._

Zuko's smile didn't fade for the rest of the night.


End file.
